Welcome back my dear readers ( so far I know there are two of you already!) Lately I have been so swamped with work that I totally have neglected my Diario. It;s almost 12.30 am and i promised myself to go to bed by 1am , but i felt a great need of sharing something with you. Today I spent most of the day working on the Brahms 1st concerto. A divine work of genius , everybody knows that. Those who don’t , please listen to it , a new planet will open up for you. A planet you will want to travel to as often as possible and probably want to move and settle there forever. As for me , Brahms came relatively late to me. It seems as he was neglecting me while I was a teenager and in my early 20’s. He didn’t want to waste his time finding a way to my heart while I was preoccupied with Liszt, Rachmaninov , Prokofiev and the salon transcriptions of the Golden Age. He waited for the right moment and then …..he kindly knocked 😉

However, I didn’t want to talk about my love for Brahms’ music but about something I just found online. I was searching for the Karajan’s recording of his 3rd symphony on youtube and came across something so extraordinary that i couldn’t resist of posting it in my little Diario. I found the video of Evgeny Svetlanov conducting the 3rd movement with the Russian National Orchestra. This recording was made about 6 months before Svetlanov’s death on May 3rd 2002. It is by far the most perfect performance of this work that I have ever heard. I am listening to it as I am writing these words and it’s probably the 100th time already!!! Svetlanov takes a slower tempo and is able to achieve such full and longing sound from the orchestra. It’s simply mesmerizing. I have always been a fan of this great conductor. Unfortunately I never had a chance to listen to him live , but got to know him a little bit better through my former teacher Nina Svetlanova who was married to him and told me so many amazing stories about him and about his genius. Some of her memoirs can be found on the website dedicated to him;

Agree with each word. It is great performance. To Svetlanov Brahms also came relatively late. Kissin’s interview is very special, I knew it before and admire his feelings and writings.
Red ALL YOUR BLOG!!!! Congratulations..

Yes, it is the best performance I’ve ever heard. I do know Brahms’ symphonies for decades, but I discovered Svetlanov only recently. The unusual slower tempo, the variations of it, the subtle differences, the capacity to make hear the different instruments is stupefying. God bless you, Master. Rest in peace.